


The Passion of Friendship

by musiclvr1112



Series: Completing the Compendium [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Ganon, Recipe, Rooftops, Stars, Sweet Talk, Traveling, Waterfall, Zelink Month 2018, dear diary, hyrule compendium, sun and moon, the passion of friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-26 18:50:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15669153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musiclvr1112/pseuds/musiclvr1112
Summary: Continuing fromlast week's fic, Zelda writes of her travels with Link in her new journal.





	1. Stars

 

Dear Diary,

Today marks the beginning of a new life for Link and I, and with a new life I decided I ought to start a new journal. I also somewhat _have_ to start a new journal since I don’t have my old one anymore. I suppose I could go find it; Link says he saw it when he was in Hyrule castle. (He claimed that he didn’t read it, but the blush and the shifty eyes spoke otherwise). But I haven’t really been able to bring myself to return to the castle since we left. After being locked up in there for 100 years (and 17 before that if we’re being honest), I’m not all too fond of the place. And besides, there’s so much more to see out in the rest of Hyrule.

For my first entry, I write to you from the top of an ancient Sheikah tower. What a splendid place to sit and write! Climbing up here was a feat of its own—I can’t believe Link climbed every single one of these things! We cooked up a bunch of endura shrooms this morning to prepare, but I didn’t even need them! Can you believe that?

Okay, as proud as I want to be, I must credit the effective design work the ancient Sheikah builders did. Every tower has standing platforms systematically placed along the sides to stop and rest before climbing the rest of the way. Even though the towers were built as part of a transportation system, they still included that feature specifically so that they could be climbed. I can only guess it was a safety measure on the off chance something would go wrong and the tower might need repairs. Or maybe they just wanted to keep the less-determined people away.

Link didn’t understand why I wanted to climb a tower. He said there wasn’t anything at the top, and that we would get up here and I would immediately want to leave. What lies! There’s a guidance stone up at the top here that’s used to download living maps into the Sheikah Slate. I say living because these maps are up-to-date, even now! They aren’t maps of Hyrule back when the Sheikah first built the towers; they aren’t even maps of the Hyrule I lived in before! Somehow these towers have absorbed and noted the changes in layout here in Hyrule as they’ve happened—and the slate continues to update, as Link said he watched Terry Town appear on his map.

I spent the better part of the afternoon just fiddling with the guidance stone and the slate, trying to understand how it works, but I got nowhere. It seems that even now that the Sheikah technology is awake and running, it’s still as stubborn and unyielding as I remember it to be. I’ll have to ask Purah what she knows on the subject when we go back to Hateno.

Link just stirred in his sleep. He fell asleep a couple hours ago while we were watching the stars together. Up here in the tower, it’s almost like we’re in the sky, sitting with the stars themselves. The view is absolutely breathtaking. Though he doesn’t have the same fascination with Sheikah technology that I do, he couldn’t deny that the stars were absolutely beautiful up here. I think we may climb to the top of more towers in the future. Goodness knows this is a great place to escape to if ever we need one.

Link is beautiful when he sleeps. He’s always handsome of course, but there’s something different about him sleeping. From the peaceful expression to the quiet breaths, it’s like a soft reminder that the strong, courageous knight who has slain a million lynels and faced the embodiment of evil itself is still a Hylian at the end of the day who needs sleep like all the rest.

It’s so strange, being with him like this. I keep having to remind myself that I’m allowed to stare at him. Well, that sounds strange. What I mean is that in the past if ever I was just admiring him and he turned toward me, I had to look away and pretend I wasn’t looking. Because… Well, because I hadn’t yet told him that I loved him.

But that changed last night. I told him I loved him, and he said it back. In many ways, it’s like nothing changed. We’re still the same two people and we’re friends as we have been for the past four months. I wouldn’t be surprised if our relationship didn’t actually change that much after this development—staying that of two close friends. My mother used to tell me those were the best relationships when I was younger. She said my father was her best friend, and they had just been lucky enough to find love there. Perhaps that’s what Link and I will be.

But it’s the little things, like looking at him, that are certainly different. For instance, earlier today, he was eating an apple and I thought he was cute. And I realized that I didn’t have to look away when his eyes caught mine. He did blush though, his cheeks getting pinker the longer I watched him. I think that might have been even cuter. I’ll have to see what else makes him blush as we move forward together. It ought to be fun.

For now though, I think I should sleep. In the morning we’ll be climbing down from here, and that will be another feat to accomplish. I wish I had a paraglider like his. I wonder where my father procured it…

-Zelda


	2. Rooftops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 13: Rooftops

Dear Diary,

Link and I finally arrived in Gerudo Town today, him dressed in some rather handsome clothes befitting of a Gerudo man—come to think of it, where did he get those?—and me terribly sick of the taste of chilly elixirs. But the most splendid thing happened when we were still at the bazaar before reaching town. While I was buying some supplies from the local vendors, Link sneaked off somewhere and when he returned, he was dressed as a Gerudo woman!

I must have had quite a look on my face because he immediately rushed to explain that wearing that outfit was the only way he could get into the town in the first place. But really, all that was going through my mind was amazement at how lovely he looked dressed like that! I must say, Link makes a rather cute woman, and the desert clothing is very flattering on his body. Of course, I immediately insisted on buying my own set upon entering town. When we return to Hateno, I intend to dye mine pink.

I finally met Lady Riju today. She is young, but every bit a force to be reckoned with as the Gerudo chieftains before her. And much like me, she has a wonderful guard by her side at all times.

We came here because I wanted to check in to see how they were doing now that Ganon is gone, and I’m happy to say that all here is well. Apparently, people are out traveling a lot more now that it’s safe, so the town’s business is even better than usual.

I expect we should be seeing that all across Hyrule in the coming months. I will surely find out soon as Link and I have planned a great deal of travel—both to check in with the people and also so that he can show me some of the things he has discovered. Some of the places he wants to go he won’t tell me though; he says it’s a surprise. Needless to say, I’m excited.

Now I must make my confession: I let myself get terribly distracted from scientific pursuits today.

Link and I had planned to get back to expanding the compendium after speaking with Riju today. There are a great deal of items and creatures out here in the desert that we won’t be able to find anywhere else. We started with what we could find in town, taking pictures of the weapons that the Gerudo warriors use and the sand seals—the sand seals!—but as the sun rose higher into the sky, the more unbearable the heat became.

Link told me to change into the clothes we had bought, and he was right, those certainly helped, but…

Well, when I stepped out of the changing room and Link saw me, I’m pretty sure I caught a bit of blush peeking out from behind his veil.

He said he knew a good way to cool off, and led me up the stairs of the palace until we were up by the rooftops of the town. It turns out there’s an entire system of streams up there! We took off our shoes and walked around in the cool, refreshing water, peering down at the town underneath us as we went.

It was fun, especially once we began splashing each other with the water. I don’t remember who started it, but eventually we were chasing each other around in those streams like children, and I was reminded again of what my mother said about love between friends. Whether we’re taking pictures out in nature, staring up at the stars, or kicking water at one another, being with Link never ceases to make me smile.

Remember how I said that nothing had really changed between us though? Well, I was wrong. I found out today when I slipped and fell.

I swear he wasn’t that close to me, but being the ever ready knight that he is, Link caught me, and we both went toppling down into the water. At first I was absolutely frightened. He had managed to take the brunt of the fall so that I would land on top of him, and I worried that his head might have hit the tile. But the second I started fussing, he promised he was okay, and he even started laughing and said that I won. I realized a moment later that he was talking about the fact that his entire backside was now soaked.

We laughed together then, and that was when things changed. I can still feel his arm around my waist as it was in that moment. His veil had fallen loose from the fall, leaving his pink cheeks and toothy grin full on display, and somehow, staring at him and admiring him while so close was different than every other time I’ve admired him before.

I don’t know when we stopped laughing, but we reached this almost magical point where we were just staring at each other with giddy smiles, and I… I started leaning closer to him, and almost as if he could read my mind, he reached up and unfastened my veil, and…

And we kissed.

I had never kissed anyone before. I’m positive I didn’t do it right. But that didn’t change the fact that it was absolutely breathtaking. I hope it was the first of many.

-Zelda

 


	3. Sweet Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 14: Sweet Talk

 

Dear Diary,

I learned another way in which things between Link and I have changed. Allow me to explain.

Today we arrived in Terry Town. It’s a brand new little village in the middle of the Akkala region, and it’s lovely! Link told me it existed, but he didn’t tell me _he helped make it._ Everyone in town knows him, and constantly thanks him for guiding them there. Apparently that’s even how the town founder, Hudson, met his wife—Link convinced her to go there!

After hearing this, I pressed Link for information and he opened up about the whole story. Apparently this all started when he bought his house in Hateno. Hudson decided to start his own branch of Bolson Construction out in Akkala, and asked Link to keep an eye out for people whose names end in –son to set up shops here. Eventually, he sent Rhondson here, and she and Hudson fell in love. Link said the wedding was lovely.

That was when I lamented not having seen their wedding, and said, “we’ll just have to have one of our own.” The words were out of my mouth before I even realized what I was saying, but I don’t regret it, especially because of the look on his face after that. Even his ears were red! And the blush didn’t go away for at least twenty minutes—though that may have been due to the way I kept telling him how cute he looked thereafter.

Little by little I’m discovering these small ways in which our interactions have changed, and I’m loving every single one. Partly because these interactions are everything I never knew I wanted, and partly because at the end of the day, we are still us. The same two people in the same close friendship, only now with tiny added bonuses here and there that we discover every day. It’s perfect.

While we were in town, we also met with Granté, who secretly sells rare amours up on a rooftop. He charges a ridiculous amount of rupees, but Link didn’t seem to care, and insisted that if we are going to be doing all the travel we have planned, I’ll need a lot of these specialty clothes. He said one of the sets he bought will also help me if I really want to start fighting monsters. I am scared, but excited. Updates on this situation to come.

-Zelda


	4. Recipe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 15: Recipe

 

Dear Diary,

Today has been a day riddled with nostalgia.

Prince Sidon is every bit as sweet and charming as he was when he was young. It’s incredible to see him so grown up. Knowing Zora lifespans as compared to Hylians, I thought I knew for sure back then that I would never see him pass adolescence. Yet here is another strange blessing wrapped in the curse that was Calamity Ganon—getting to see Sidon as the brave and charismatic prince that Mipha always wanted him to be.

He and the rest of the Zora people seem to hold a great deal of respect and appreciation for Link, and not just for taming Vah Ruta. It would seem that here as well he has spent a great deal of time accomplishing tasks for the civilians. If as a queen I can ever be half as helpful as Link has been to the people of Hyrule, I will be content.

Though Zora Domain isn’t the trading center that Gerudo Town is, it is still a beautiful travel destination for many people across the map, and with Ganon gone, tourism is up here now just like in Gerudo. And just as we observed with Naboris, it would seem that Vah Ruta has returned the dormant state in which we found it initially. I am beginning to suspect that the Sheikah programmed the divine beasts to only become active amidst the presence of a danger as destructive as Ganon. Let us hope that they never have to awaken again.

Being among the Zora was a very strange experience—in a good way. Unlike everywhere else, a vast majority of the Zora were around for the calamity, and many of them even remember me. I cannot adequately express the way it squeezed my heart every time one of the Zora people today greeted me as if an old friend returned from a long journey. Even though I was never very close to them, and only visited the domain a few times, they still remember me as the Hylian princess from all those years ago and expressed immense gratitude and relief that I am alive and well now. It was…cathartic.

We left Zora Domain early in the day to start heading south again. Link said he wanted to get as far as we could because he wanted to leave plenty of time for us to get to the place he wants to show me tomorrow. He still won’t tell me where exactly that is, but he promises that I’ll love it, so I just have to trust him.

Surprisingly enough, the nostalgia didn’t end today with us leaving Zora Domain. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this yet, but Link is a really good cook. In the past, of course, food was his one true love, so he had a basic understanding of it. But the things he made back then were fairly simple. Mushroom skewers and grilled meats made up most of his meals. Truth be told, I think that might have been where most of my success came from back then when I got him to open up over meals—I made him slightly more novel meals that he wasn’t as used to.

Now, however, he’s gotten very creative. He throws together so many ingredients that I never would have thought to mix, and they come out absolutely delicious! He says it’s because he didn’t know how to make anything when he woke up and just had to start trying random things to see what would happen. Apparently, he made a few unspeakable horrors along the way, but for the most part, he’s learned a plethora of scrumptious recipes!

The reason I bring it up though is because earlier, once we had set up camp for the night, he did the sweetest thing with regards to cooking. Even though I love Link’s cooking, and I enjoy cooking myself as well, I admitted that the one thing I really miss about living in the castle is the food. Our chef back then was a creative culinary genius the likes of which I haven’t seen anywhere else. He used to make the strangest, most delightful things that you would never see anywhere else.

A moment later, Link had hopped to his feet and was rummaging through the ingredients we had. When I asked him what he was doing, he refused to answer, just saying it was a surprise. Just about at my limit for surprises, I kept leaning over to watch what he was doing. He eventually caught me trying to sneak a peek though, and ordered me to turn around.

I felt like an impatient child on time-out as I sat there just playing with the grass while Link made all sorts of clattering and clanging behind me. But the wait was well worth it. When he finally told me I could turn around, I found myself confronted with a cute little purple horned dessert—Monster Cake, just like the chef used to make. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Apparently Link had found the recipe whilst making his way through Hyrule castle.

I think I surprised him when I set the cake aside and kissed him instead of eating it.

-Zelda

P.S. I did eat it eventually, and it was delicious.


	5. Waterfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 16: Waterfall

 

Dear Diary,

Now I know why Link wanted to leave plenty of time to get to our next destination. He had correctly guessed that the location would still be vastly inhabited by monsters. Though he has begun teaching me some combat skills, he didn’t want me to start battling monsters hand-to-hand quite yet. So while he went ahead and cleared the path, I offered limited assistance with a bow. I’ll admit that I wasn’t very helpful, but I’m getting better!

I must say, seeing Lanayru Road was bittersweet. The main roads that people travel by these days no longer pass through this once revered passage. Not only is it riddled with danger, it has been left in ruins by the calamity and worn away more and more with time. The walkways I used to roam are in pieces and the promenade where I once sat and prayed to the goddess has flooded. The last 100 years have really taken their toll on this sacred, beloved place.

That being said, the road is still beautiful—if in a haunting sort of way—and standing in that promenade makes me feel closer to the goddess in such a way that tells me it has not lost its sanctity.

At first I didn’t understand why Link wanted to bring me here. He had been talking about showing me new places he had discovered, not old ones. But when I asked him why we were here, he just took my hand and kept walking, a tiny smile on his lips even as he kept a lookout for signs of danger.

When we reached the promenade, I thought I caught glimpses of blue light in the water before he began leading me up the cliff. It turns out there’s a hidden passage up there; a tunnel that leads behind the waterfall! And this entire time, hiding back there was a Sheikah shrine.

I was absolutely awestruck when I saw it. Even though Hyrule is littered with towers and shrines now, I still get chills every time I see them. I spent so many years studying the mysterious technology, and I hope to study it further still. I’m very fond of it. And to see a shrine in so mystical a place as behind a waterfall… it was breathtaking.

While I was distracted by the view, Link pulled out a blanket and some food. That was his surprise. He knew I would love this place, so he prepared a picnic for us here. I’m beginning to wonder if a limit to his consideration exists. It is does, I don’t know that I’ll find it. I hope I don’t.

When we arrived, the sun had nearly set, so we decided to stay here for the night. It’s a bit chilly, but otherwise perfect. The steady stream of the waterfall and the pulsating glow of the shrine make for the most beautiful, relaxing atmosphere. Even as I write, I can periodically look up and just watch the blue light reflect on the water as it falls to the promenade below.

Truth be told, there is something strangely exhilarating about it. It’s like the sweet seduction of sleep mixed with the energy of discovery. And it makes me want to…

Link has just about finished setting up our sleeping mats. I think… I think I want to stop writing for the night. I really want to be close to him right now.

Goodnight.

-Zelda


	6. Sun and Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 17: Sun and Moon

 

Dear Diary,

After the passing of many suns and moons, today I finally discovered why we’ve been waiting here on Satori Mountain.

Over the past week, Link has been as stubborn as ever every time I’ve asked him what we were doing here. His responses to my question varied from an impish grin and, “It’s a surprise,” to giving me literal answers describing our activities of the given moment: “We’re practicing sparring so you can fight a bokoblin soon,” or “We’re taking the best pictures of mountain deer we can manage for the compendium.” It was infuriating.

But it was early afternoon today when it happened. We were in the middle of a sparring session, and it was probably the one time I’ll ever be able to knock him off his feet, because he distractedly looked away from our fight. At first I was scared I had hurt him, and immediately helped him back up, apologizing profusely. But he held up a hand to silence me, looking up at the sky. And that was when I noticed.

I had experienced an air like this only once before—over 100 years ago, when I took the Master Sword to its resting place. Had I not had the sword and the power of the goddess guiding me, I would have been beside myself in fear as I made my way through the lost forest. The air was damp and gave an otherworldly chill, almost as if my bones themselves had turned to ice. My sight was obscured by the strangest fog and I couldn’t see a difference between night and day, for everything glowed with an ethereal blue light. It was like entering the spirit world itself.

That very same disorienting glow had suddenly fallen upon the mountain in that moment. I felt frightened, but when I looked at Link, he was smiling, and I knew that this must have been what we were waiting for.

With a finger over his lips telling me to stay quiet, he signaled for me to follow him. And what he led me to was…incredible.

I had read tales of this place long, long ago, but I never knew exactly which mountain those stories referred to—and I was never sure if I believed them anyway. But it was real and it was right in front of me today.

We had visited the small pond on Satori Mountain before during our stay, but it never looked quite like it did then. Small spirit creatures—sharing that same blue glow that was in the air—stood about, scurrying and drinking water like any other animal would. And in the middle of it all was a great blue elk—Satori, The Lord of the Mountain. Legend says that he was a sage who died here and now he is a great spirit who watches over the lives of forest animals across Hyrule. He is…everything I imagined him to be and more.

Later, Link told me that he didn’t know when or why Satori appears on this mountain, just that he does every once in a while, along with a bunch of blupees, and he wanted to make sure I got to see it. We also made sure to capture pictures of the beautiful spirits for the compendium.

We’re going to head down from the mountain and on to our next destination in the morning. Oh, right. There’s one last thing I wanted to mention.

Link and I have been sleeping together lately. Well, I should clarify. We’ve been sleeping in the same bed ever since the fall of Ganon—there was only one bed in his house in Hateno after all. But lately it’s been different. It started the night we were behind the waterfall. That night, we fell asleep while lying together, and we stayed that way until morning.

To sleep with his arms around me is one of the most comforting things I never knew I wanted, and now I can’t imagine being without it. He’s warm, and his body fits against mine so perfectly. Sometimes I can feel his breath on the crown of my head, and I can hear the slow, steady rhythm of his heart beat against my ear. In the mornings, I’ll often wake to him gently smoothing his palm along my arm or my back, or sometimes he’ll just mindlessly sift his fingers through my hair. And I’ll open my eyes, and he’ll be right there waiting for me, gazing at me with the most loving expression, and we’ll kiss as if to say “good morning.” His touch is always so very tender and warm. It makes me feel safe, protected, but also cherished and loved. It’s absolutely beautiful.

I think I’m beginning to understand why people speak so highly of being in love. It is truly special.

-Zelda


	7. Dear Diary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelink Month Day 18: Dear Diary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do you mean the 18th ended three hours ago sshhhhhhhhh

 

Dear Diary,

Being in Lurelin Village has been the vacation I always wanted when I was younger. Back then, with the lovely little beach village so out of the way, I was rarely able to come here. Those few times that I did, I never wanted to leave. This was a place where I could walk around barefoot and feel the warm sand between my toes. I could sit on the docks all day long and read to the soothing sounds of the ocean waves. The people were always so kind to me, and never treated me like royalty—they spoke to me like any other Hylian, and I loved it. The village was always such a welcomed change of pace from life in the castle, and I had often fancied thoughts of settling down here, perhaps learning to fish, starting a family, and living a life of peace and tranquility.

Now that I’ve been here for a little while, I’m sure I’ll be content to leave in a few days, but it has been just as lovely as I imagined it would be. The perfect place to go if I ever need some time to clear my mind, but maybe not quite exciting enough of a place for me to settle down.

After greeting some of the villagers upon arrival today, we walked up to a small pool at the foot of a waterfall that overlooks the village, and Link taught me how to catch fish. It was a challenge to be sure. Just when I thought I had one within my grasp, it would notice me and swim away. The secret is to lunge for them at just the right time so that they don’t notice you and can’t swim away fast enough once they do. It took me all day to get the timing down, but it wasn’t nearly as frustrating as I would expect it to be.

I’ll admit, we weren’t entirely on-task the whole time. By now, a good deal of physical contact has become commonplace for us. Our arms and legs get tangled up in each other while we sleep, we sometimes hold hands when just walking around, and we’ve fallen into the habit of kissing each other a few times every day. But…being together in Lurelin has been different. Well, I don’t think it’s the village itself so much as the fact that we wear significantly less clothing while swimming here.

Something about just swimming in that little pool with Link—especially with it being up on a hill where people rarely venture—made every little touch so much different. For instance, at one point we sat on the edge of the dock with our feet splashing in the water to soak in the sun’s heat, and we kissed and then…didn’t really stop kissing. For a while. Or once, when we were swimming, I failed to catch a fish and I caught him laughing, so I lunged for him instead, pulling him under. I could hear his muffled laughter through the water in my ears and with his hands on my bare waist, we came together and kissed again, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

It was all so very different. Different and exciting.

-Zelda

* * *

Dear Diary,

Today was exciting as well, though in a very different way. It began when one of the women in town said she didn’t have the ingredients she needed to make dinner for her family. Link almost immediately asked what they were. Later, he told me that he’d just gotten used to helping people with small tasks like that, to the point that he does it almost naturally now. As it turned out, all she needed was some goat butter and a hearty blueshell snail, so we gave them to her, and in return, she insisted on us joining her family for dinner.

It was still early afternoon at that point, so one of her sons—a sweet young boy named Zuta—said that until then, we ought to go see some ruins just down the beach. Well, he certainly didn’t need to convince me.

My excitement only grew as we approached the ruins. There we found a young man staring at an old relic of some sort, and two platforms alight with the same orange glow that decorates the Sheikah Slate. Upon seeing it, I immediately turned to Link and asked if this would be one of those hidden shrine puzzles he had told me about, and his smile confirmed it.

Needless to say, I immediately ran forward.

The relic itself seemed to have been a large circular monument of sorts at one point, with some sort of riddle inscribed on it, but it was broken. The young man studying the relic—Garini—informed us that the pieces had been scattered about the beach, and that he needed help finding them. Thus, Link and I spent the rest of our day finding the pieces.

I felt like a little kid running around on an adventure; I was skipping and giggling just about the whole time. The pieces weren’t easy to find, but it was fun nonetheless. We were searching for the last one—it turned out to be at the end of a long peninsula, of course—when Link admitted to me that he had never had so much fun unlocking a shrine before. My cheeks feel warm even now as I think about the way he gazed at me in that moment, and told me that he looked forward to finding many more shrines with me.

I’m giggling just thinking about it now: my two favorite things, Link and ancient Sheikah technology.

I can’t remember the exact wording of the riddle now, but it was something like, “the shrine will reveal itself when two kneel in their place.” Garini was completely at a loss, and Link paused to think about it, but I understood it immediately. I hopped over to one of the platforms and when I turned to tell Link to go to the other, I saw he had already caught on and was heading to it. Then, we both knelt.

It was absolutely awe-inspiring, watching the shrine rise up out of the ground. I can’t imagine the sort of mechanisms the Sheikah people would have had to build to make that happen, and for it to still work so many years later! They truly were advanced far beyond our modern understanding.

I had to wait for a small time after that while Link entered the shrine—they still won’t allow me entry unfortunately. The shrines are specifically designed only to open for the hero of legend, as they are meant to train and ready him for battle. I suppose I’ll just have to accept that I’ll never step foot inside one of those intriguing pieces of technology. Link will just have to tell me all about them instead.

We got back just in time for dinner. Kiana made us some of the best seafood paella I’ve ever had—Link ate it up before I had even eaten half of mine. It would seem that some things never change. It was such a strange, heartwarming experience to sit and eat dinner with them. They were as welcoming as if we were family, and for a while I wondered if they even knew who I was. I’m really not used to people treating me so informally. But surprisingly enough, one of the children referred to me by name—when I’m certain I never said it—and the rest of them didn’t so much as flinch. They assuredly knew who I was, but they welcomed me anyway as they would any other, as if my royal status meant nothing more than the color of my hair. Perhaps it doesn’t these days. I must admit, I really like the sound of that.

-Zelda

* * *

Dear Diary,

Link woke me with a kiss this morning. It was early—far earlier than I’ve been waking up—and between the fogginess of sleep and his hand on my waist… Well, it’s probably a good thing we were at the inn here in Lurelin, otherwise I might have gotten carried away. But he stopped once he had my attention and said there was somewhere he wanted to take me.

Remember how I said we had bought some special clothing in Terry Town? Well, today I tested out one of those sets. Made of a flexible, breathable fabric, this outfit is designed to make it easier to climb great heights. Though there is a walking path leading up this mountain, Link thought it would be a good opportunity to teach me the basics of climbing, so that in the future he can take me to more places.

My entire body still aches. I can’t believe he used to climb entire mountains on a daily basis! He says he even scaled parts of Hyrule castle to get to Ganon! It’s exhausting on the muscles, stretches my limbs in ways they’re not accustomed to, and even leaves the skin of my hands tender. No wonder he has so many calluses.

I did it though. I climbed the entirety of Tuft Mountain today. And when I got to the top, well… It was worth it.

I had read of Lover’s Pond a long time ago, in some book about urban legends. It was said to be a heart-shaped pond somewhere in Hyrule where people went to find their soulmates.

Well, Link said that though we’ve already met, he still wanted to bring me here, if nothing else just so that I may see it. The pond is beautiful, and it really is in the perfect shape of a heart. Hearty radishes even grow in the small valley surrounding it—awfully thematic, isn’t it?

We had spent nearly the whole day climbing—we took it slow since I didn’t know what I was doing. So by the time we got there, the sun had just begun to set. It cast a beautiful pink-orange glow over the surface of the water, and—my favorite part—fireflies floated about in the air surrounding it. Link let me drink in the sight of it for a moment before he took my hand and led me to the very base of the pond.

I still remember his exact words as we stood at the tip of the heart.

“There may be a lot that I still don’t remember, but there is one thing about you that I do know.”

And he pulled out a beautiful, glowing Silent Princess. My favorite flower.

Of all the kisses we’ve had, the one we shared then was by far the most tender, sweet, intimate—the most loving—of them all.

-Zelda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Stay tuned as we keep up with these two next week as well~


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